Heroes
by GriffinRoar777
Summary: AU. Lily Evans knew her world was about to change forever, but never did she expect that a scholarship to a school for "gifted children" would lead to developing super powers, saving the world and maybe even... falling in love?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling and I know this kind of story has been done before, but I'm taking my own slant on it.**

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The day Lily Evans' life changed forever was just an ordinary autumn Tuesday. Birds chirped cheerfully at dawn outside her window and she just as cheerfully ignored them. Mr Harris washed his car in his front garden with pride akin to that of a father holding his new born son. Lily's mum was watered the begonia's while the radio blasted from the kitchen and some old songstress crooned about a broken heart.

But somehow, Lily thought, with an uneasy sense of anticipation, something was not _quite_ as ordinary about today as she would've liked to believe. Had she felt the need to voice her trepidation to him, Lily's father, would've chuckled and said she was a little bit fey when it came to such matters. Lily loved her father more than anyone else in the world, even a teeny bit more than her mum, not that she'd ever say it of course. But then again, her mother did seem to favour Lily's older sister, Petunia, the epitome of the dutiful and well behaved daughter.

Lily pulled a face at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't want to think about Petty, or her respectable office job, or her steady-as-they-come boyfriend, Vernon Dursley who closely resembled a shaved baboon in Lily's opinion. Not on the last Tuesday of her summer holidays, when she'd be going back to Stonewall Academy for her fifth miserable year.

"Is that burning toast I smell?" Lily grinned as she sauntered into the kitchen wearing an old band t-shirt that had at some stage been her fathers, and a pair of denim shorts that showed off her long and (much her disgust) milky white legs.

"Are you suggesting that I burned toast and hid it in a plastic bag after trying unsuccessfully to feed it to next doors cat? Because, Miss Evans, if that is so-"

"I'd be absolutely right." Lily finished, hopping up on the countertop and peeling a banana, legs swinging cheerfully as she did so.

"Dad, that's the third time this week." She pointed out, mouth full of banana.

"A man does get hungry occasionally, you know. It's not like I can wait for you to get up and make it for me, can I? Not if I want to eat it sometime this century." He leaned over and tweaked her nose.

"I think you've got more freckles since I saw you last."

Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust and went cross-eyed trying to see for herself.

"It's your fault." She told him sourly.

"I had to inherit your genes and receive the freckle curse. And red hair." She added as an afterthought, tugging on a damp, auburn curl absently.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, they look better on you than they ever did on me." Her father winked and settled down at the impeccably neat table, mug of tea in hand.

Lily automatically put down more toast and frowned, looking out the window. It was just her mother out working in the garden, she was certain. There couldn't possibly be anyone else watching her.

"Hmph. Cannons are bottom of the league again." Her father muttered, turning to the next page in the sports section.

"Big surprise. Dorkins would have a heart attack if they actually won a game." Lily commented, referring to the Chudley Cannons long-time manager, who was known as the worst manager of all time. The last time the Cannons won the league was 1892 and chances were, it would remain that way.

"I think I'm gonna go to the park." Lily announced, suddenly, surprising herself as much as her father. It had been her intention to stay in and organise her school stuff today, as she had cheerfully dumped everything school related unceremoniously into the cupboard under the stairs at the start of the summer and she knew her mum would lecture her about it soon enough.

"Oh, ok then. Be careful, alright? That Snape boy-"

Lily shook her head fiercely. She definitely didn't want to think about her former friend on today of all days.

"I'll be back lateish." She told her father, yanking on a pair of sandals that were sitting neatly in the shoe rack by the door. She absently scooped up her still drying hair from her earlier shower into a high pony tail and yanked on her denim jacket.

"See you around." She called after her, not hearing her father's response.

Why had she decided to go to the park? She'd purposely avoided going there all summer; simply because she knew Severus would be there. It had been their childhood haunt. She'd met him there first, she remembered. But they'd been just kids then, carefree and innocent, before Stonewall and before change.

The walk, so familiar to her from bygone days, was the same, but felt different. Lily wasn't sure if it was because she knew Severus wouldn't be there waiting for her, or if it was something else. The uneasy feeling that had been with her before, seemed to increase tenfold when she stood at the battered green gates, making her wonder if she should just go home. But almost as if making the decision for her, the gate swung open.

Lily wasn't quite sure how long she stayed there. It was almost as if she was waiting for something. She wasn't waiting for Severus, she knew that. If she'd really wanted to see him or hear his constant apologies, she'd have sought him out. No, Lily thought, dreamily. There was something else, something bigger, awaiting her. Something life changing, just around the corner.

When it was finally dark, she realised she'd have to go home. She hadn't felt the time pass, but she knew how worried her parents would be, so she hurried. In later years, Lily often wondered if she had walked more slowly, things might have been different. If she hadn't ran all the way home like her life depended on it maybe-

"HOME!" Lily shouted, reaching her front gate and vaulting over it. She wasn't sure why she shouted, but she had some vague inclination of scaring off whatever was chasing her. Which was ridiculous, she thought nervously, glancing over her shoulder at the quiet suburban neighbourhood street. There was nobody there. That didn't stop her scrambling to find her key and dashing in the door.

"Lily?" her dad's voice was hoarse, croaky. Seriously startled at this point, she made her way into the sitting room where her mother and father were sitting side by side on the couch staring wide eyed at the stranger standing in the middle of the room. A very strange stranger he was too, Lily thought, taking in his appearance.

He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.

Lily had no idea how, but instantly she knew he was what she had been waiting for all day. Maybe even all her life. Nor was she sure why she instantly felt safe and protected from whatever may or may not have been after her, but she felt immensely comforted by his presence.

"Extraordinary." The stranger said softly and it was then she realised that he was observing her with as close scrutiny as she had been observing him. She flushed bright pink, her head clashing horribly with her hair.

"Who are you?" she asked, feeling terrified and exhilarated at the same time. She was on the brink of changing her life, she could feel it. The stranger smiled widely as if incredibly pleased with her question. He extended a hand and announced in a soft, friendly voice;

"My name is Albus Dumbledore."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: *Gulps as gun is pointed at temple* Hi! I just decided completely of my own free will to tell you guys I'm not JK Rowling. On a completely unrelated topic , if you guys are interested in reading the rest of this story you can post ransom money to this very nice man at-**

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Lily still couldn't believe it. They were offering her a free education at one of the most prestigious schools in Europe. Which meant she got to leave Stonewall. No more hideous, oversized grey blazers. No more being shoved into locker doors every time someone passed her in the hall. No more snotty Jaz Windas who sniggered at her every time she got changed for PE. No more Mr Culkiss who sprayed her with spittle in Geography when-ever he opened his mouth.

Spinning giddily, she watched her new uniform skirt swirl around her knees and was only stopped by the small, sad smile on her father's face.

"Oh Daddy." She murmured and ran over to give him another hug. Somehow leaving home and her mum had been easier than this. One major downside to her new school, it was a boarding school and parental visits were strictly outlawed.

"Now, now, you're going to make me cry. C'mon the last thing you want to remember for your first week at school is your old man snivelling at the train station." But she heard a muffled sniffle anyway. Her mum had broken down into floods of tears about her baby being away for so long but this felt more genuine and made her heart ache a whole lot more.

"I'll write every week. Every day if I can manage it." She promised, scooping up her travel bag (her trunk had been sent ahead) and grabbing him for one last goodbye hug.

"I won't let you down. I know at Stonewall-"she trailed off and stared at her shoes and swallowed hard.

"Hey now." He stuck a finger under her chin and lifted it so two pairs of green eyes met head on.

"You never let me down. Stonewall was my place, not yours. Hopefully, this Hogwarts-" He paused to pull a face at the name, making her giggle weakly.

"Will be your place. You were always destined for bigger things Lily Billy. I suppose a dad's just inclined to wish you'd stick around him to do them." Eyes watering, she nodded and pressed her lips together to prevent the tears from spilling over.

"Thanks dad. I love you."

"I love you too, Lily Billy." She allowed herself one glance back. One glance to prove to herself that he was still there, that she was really going. He waved and so did she, before jumping on board the train. And crashing into someone.

"Oi!" They protested indignantly.

"Watch it!" Lily blinked at surveyed the person who'd just knocked her clean off her feet. Christ, she thought dazedly. He looked about seven feet tall and menacing with it, dark hair spilling over his forehead into dark, stormy grey eyes.

"Bloody normies." He sneered and marched off mutinously down the narrow corridor before slamming into a compartment. Ok, she thought with a somewhat despondent sigh. Maybe not quite unlike Stonewall.

"Are you alright? Sloan's an asshole." Surprised, she felt someone cup her elbow and help her up. She glanced at her helper who was almost as tall as Sloan with shoulder length black hair and grey eyes, but his were much more friendly. She smiled.

"I'm fine thanks. I'm Lily Evans, nice to meet you." She stuck out a hand which he kissed in a gentlemanly fashion, making her smile harder.

"Sirius Black at your service." He shot her a grin so charming that it dazzled her.

"Sirius, lay off, she's only just gotten on the train." A tall, sandy haired boy with green eyes sighed, snapping a large book shut. Turning to Lily he said;

"Watch out for this one. He's entirely too charming for his own good. Remus Lupin." He added, when she shot him a quizzical smile.

"One of his long suffering best mates."

"Oh no, Sirius was just being helpful. I'm afraid I may have gotten on the wrong side of Sloan already." Lily flushed, feeling a bit stupid. Remus scowled.

"Unfortunately he is one of a group of our rather unpleasant fellow students. You may find yourself coming into contact with such cretins as him during your time here." Sirius let out a bark of laughter that startled her.

"You know I only ever understand twelve percent of what he says? I need a translator most of the time. He's like a word a day calendar." Still laughing, he leaned over to ruffle a still scowling Remus.

"C'mon we'd better introduce you to James and Peter, before you get accosted by anymore of the Slytherins. How'd you hear about the school anyhow?" Sirius asked, casually slinging a friendly arm around her shoulder.

"Actually, Dumbledore offered me an English scholarship. I had no idea that I could-"

"A scholarship?" Sirius asked, looking dismayed and withdrawing his arm. Remus shot him a worried glance and made a not too subtle gesture to get away from her.

"Oh that's too bad. We're not allowed to hang out with scholarship students. Weird rule I know. Ok, bye!" Like the hounds of hell were chasing them, they took off, leaving her standing alone, confused and more than a little hurt.

Feeling sorry for herself, she began searching morosely for an empty compartment. It was pretty mean of them to treat her like she had some kind of contagious disease as opposed to being unable to afford the no doubt astronomical fees for the school. Surely it wasn't a bad thing that she was admitted to the school based on her academic ability as opposed to her family's bank balance?

Scowling, she shoved open the door of the nearest compartment and stumbled backwards at the sight before her. Sloan and a bunch of his cronies were forming a semi-circle around someone crouched in the corner.

Lily hated bullies, mostly because she had been subject to them all her life, step forward Jaz Windas. While she put up with people picking on her because she honestly couldn't see the alternative being much better, she abhorred anyone bullying someone else. Especially when that someone was a small girl who couldn't be much older than twelve.

"Leave her alone." Lily said, pushing through the crowd and standing in front of the crying girl defiantly.

"Aww isn't that sweet. Two little normies sticking together." Sloan smirked, nudging his friends who grinned menacingly. Lily stood up straighter. She didn't know what they meant by "normies" but it was obviously an insult.

"Ok, normy. You want to play? Let's play." His eyes turned black and hypnotised, she stared into them. To her horror, her memories began to flash in his eyes. Playing in the park with Severus. Feeding her cat. Fighting with her sister. Watching her grandmother die-

"NO!" Lily bellowed and with an instinctive gesture she shoved her hands out and he flew across the room, smacking his head against the compartment door. A small trickle of blood trailed down from his nose onto his chin. Incensed, he touched it and stood up, seemingly unaffected otherwise.

"Why you little-"he started towards her, but the door flew open again and Lily recognised Sirius and Remus with two other people she didn't know.

"One step towards them Sloan-"Remus said warningly while Sirius moved to check on the girl behind Lily.

"Picking on innocent normies now are we Sloan?" One of the other two boys Lily didn't recognise said scornfully. But Lily noticed he stayed close to the other boy.

"Innocent normies, huh? Why don't you show them sweetheart?" he sneered, wiping his nose.

"Why don't you show your buddies here what you showed me, huh? C'mon, you're not afraid, are you?"

Lily blinked, her exhaustion and confusion, morphing into rage.

"I am not afraid of you." She snapped and shoved out her hands furiously again, nodding, satisfied when his head smacked sharply against the floor, knocking him out.

"Some people are just gluttons for punishment." She said darkly and turned to face Sloan's cronies who scarpered before she could say anything else.

Suddenly the enormity of what had happened swamped her.

"What the hell did I just do?" she murmured, staring at her hands, before sinking to the floor in a dead faint.


	3. Chapter 3

**Queenie Greengrass: Thank you! I'm so happy you like it because it's been playing on my mind for some time. I've been following similarly themed stories, but sadly they aren't updated as often as I'd like so I decided to write to my own one. It's also cool to see you're checking out my other stuff and hopefully I'll be able to update much more often for all my stories once summer swings around. For now I'm stealing moments whenever I can.**

**OOOOHH: YAY! Thanks so much for being my first reviewer for this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to follow.**

**Disclaimer: I escaped! But just in case… *glances left and right nervously* I'm not JK Rowling. But let's keep that to ourselves, yeah?**

* * *

"Let me get this straight." Lily said faintly, staring into the kindly blue eyes of her new Headmaster. Everything seemed hazy since she'd awoken, to three teenage boys peering down at her, while the fourth went to get help.

"This school…" She stopped and took a deep breath in before continuing.

"This school… is for superheroes? You've been monitoring…me?" Any second now she'd wake up and she'd be back in Privet Drive, dreading each morning she had to drag herself to school.

"Not quite. We accept anyone who shows any kind of… out of the ordinary abilities, be they strong or weak. So we cannot all technically be classed as superheroes, in fact the majority of students these days appear to be more sidekick than superhero- but I can see I'm confusing you further." Dumbledore finished, taking in her bewildered and distressed expression.

"There's been some mistake." She told him, shaking her head furiously, to dislodge the voice in her head that suggested all of this was plausible.

"I'm no hero. I'm not special. I don't have any powers; I can't even stop people picking on me at school for Christ sake!" She burst out; leaping from the chair she had sunk into minutes before and began pacing rapidly.

"You have the wrong girl. Honestly, just wipe my memory or something and I'll be on my way I-"She slammed both hands flat on the desk, frustrated.

"There has been no mistake Miss Evans. You are in possess of certain as of yet undisclosed… skills shall we say, thus qualifying you for entrance to this school. "He leaned in across the table and laid his hands on top of hers. They were warm and comforting, like everything else about him. She somehow felt soothed, like there was nothing wrong in the world-

"STOP!" She barked, panicked, yanking her hands back. He looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I will not be controlled." The words that came out of her mouth didn't sound like hers. They were oddly phrased and powerful, vehement even. She was terrifying herself again. She vaguely recollected, Sirius trying to plead her case before the Head master sent him and his friends on their way-

"-the git deserved it Professor, honestly-" But seeing, feeling what she did, it rattled her down to her bones. This meant, she realized, that she had already accepted that she had slammed someone's head against a door without touching them, twice. She had stopped people trying to manipulate her feelings to suit them, even if some had better intentions than others.

"Extraordinary." The old man looked at her with respect, mingling with something else.

"No one has yet been able to resist- but never mind. You are no doubt exhausted and starving. We'll deal with the necessities for now and I'll arrange for a guided tour of the school tomorrow." He keyed in a code into a high tech lock by the door, that she could have sworn wasn't there seconds before. A door swung out of seemingly solid plaster, revealing a large room with five identical beds, four of which were occupied by slumbering teenage girls, the fifth, the one closest to the window, was empty.

Her new principal smiled at her and gestured for her to go inside. His murmured last words, swam in her head in the seconds it took her to nod off.

"I'd wish you sweet dreams, but it never works…"

* * *

Lily dreamed that she stood on top of a mountain. At least, she thought she was dreaming. Everything seemed so vivid though, she could feel a cool breeze tangle her fiery curls; she could hear the distant sound of a plane… below her? She reached out and felt the cool, dampness of the clouds that were swirling at her waist level.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Lily jumped and whirled around to see and extraordinarily handsome young man, leaning casually against the peak of the mountain. He was dressed in a toga and sandals with a large, lethal sword strapped to his waist. He looked at her carefully and took a few steps forward, so he was nearly nose to nose with her. Cautiously, smiling the entire time, he reached for her hand and kissed it. Lily was too surprised to be embarrassed.

"I am Heracles. The first of our race to reveal his…abilities to the mortal world." Lily blinked, confused.

"I thought the legends said you were half god?" She asked, frowning. He shot her a megawatt grin that somehow seemed insincere.

"Honey, people back then would believe anything you told them. Especially if you set the stage a little. That snake in my crib? My mom put it there. A centaur getting my wife to kill me? Not real. I had one too many- but that's another story." He said hastily, seeing the expression on her face.

"I'm here to talk to you Lily. To warn and advise you. Students rarely get guidance, but considering what you're about to face, I feel your situation merits it." He glanced left and right, as if afraid of being seen before delivering his message.

"You must learn to trust before you can do what you need to do. You're stronger than you think. Don't let failure discourage you. Oh and brush twice a day." He laughed at his own joke and made as if to walk away but she grabbed his arm.

"Why are you helping me? I mean, not that any of that stuff makes any sense, but why?" She stared right into his eyes, a perfect cornflower blue and felt a jolt of recognition that left her even more confused.

"Why not? We're kin after all." He was gone before she had time to question him further.

* * *

"- of course she's foreign! When have you ever heard of a fifth year freshman?" A voice scoffed. Lily felt somewhat disorientated. She vaguely remembered her conversation with her principal and a long dead fake demi-god. Which either meant that she was crazy or that all this superhero crap was true. She liked the first option better.

"-doesn't look foreign-"A second voice argued. Lily wondered who they were talking about. She opened her eyes and when she saw the four girls huddled around her bed, peering interestedly at her, she screamed.

"She's awake!" One of them said cheerfully. None of them seemed in the least perturbed that they had just scared Lily so much that she had seen her entire life flash before her eyes. She seemed to have spent a lot of time in the library.

"I'm Alice Owens." The chirpy blond with a cherubic face said, offering her a hand to shake. Lily shook it automatically, still wondering if she should try and bolt.

"This is Marlene Jacobson-"Alice gestured to a brunette with a gorgeous olive complexion, who had sat down at the edge of Lily's bed and was smiling sleepily.

"-this is Flora Fortesque-"Alice continued, pointing at a pale girl with chin length caramel coloured hair with light green streaks, who waved at Lily enthusiastically. So enthusiastically, she almost fell off the bed.

"-and this is Kayla Fitzwilliam." A tall, slim girl with her black hair tied up in a neat bun, inclined her head gracefully, almost regally.

"And you are?" Alice prompted, when Lily simply stared, clutching the duvet cover to her chest. It occurred to her that she'd been fully dressed when she fell asleep _on top_ of the covers and now she was wearing a vest top and flannel bottoms.

"I'm Lily Evans." She said, taking in her surroundings tremulously.

"You don't sound foreign." Flora said, shooting a triumphant glance at Kayla.

"I'm not." Lily confirmed, confused, swinging her legs to the side and throwing back the covers.

"Then why're you here? Not that we don't want you here or anything, it's just, it's not exactly normal for students to show up in the middle of the night, especially when they're not eleven." Alice explained.

"Oh, uh… I was with the principal since the train arrived yesterday and we didn't finish talking until late."

"Why were you with the principal?" Marlene asked curiously.

"I knocked out another student on the train." Lily admitted, rubbing the back of her neck, as was her custom when she was nervous. Kayla raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"Which student?" She asked imperiously.

"Sloan. But it wasn't my fault! He was picking on this girl and then I told him to stop and he-" The other four girls burst out laughing.

"Brilliant!" Kayla spluttered, ice queen facade vanishing in an instant.

"Oh I've been longing to sock him one for years. What was his reaction when you punched him?" Alice asked, eagerly, almost longing.

"I uh… didn't punch him. I didn't even touch him. I just got so mad at what he was doing… something snapped and he flew across the compartment and smacked his head. Twice." Flora blinked and looked warily at the others.

"Did Sloan use his powers on you? He's a Memoria Furem, a Memory Thief. He has the ability to filter through your memories to find what he needs, to torture and terrify." Flora explained when Lily looked confused. Lily nodded slowly.

"There was this other girl, he called us normies, I think. He was… well I'm not sure what he was doing, but she was screaming. She couldn't have been more than eleven. There was a group of guys with him and I dunno…it was like a sudden cold. Like I could feel him stick his fingers into my brain and he was making me relive all my worst memories. I felt a white hot anger and I saw him fly through the air and hit the door and I made him do it again and then Sirius and Remus and two other boys showed up and I fainted. Or at least I think that's what happened. Everything's all jumbled." She clutched her head.

"Well, whatever." Flora said, shrugging.

"You knocked out Sloan and that's enough to be my best friend for life." The others nodded in agreement.

"Welcome to the madhouse." Alice said dryly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Queenie Greengrass: I'm so pleased you like my stuff. You are literally the best. Thank you for always getting back to me about my stories!**

**Disclaimer: Not JK Rowling. I promise.**

* * *

"...And that is why I am a vegan." Alice finished, nibbling delicately on a fruit salad. Lily was seriously impressed.

"So you can communicate with animals? That is so cool!" She enthused, propping her head up on one hand.

"Savagery, I call it. Plant murderer." Flora said accusingly, pointing her spoon threateningly at Alice's fruit salad. Kayla sighed wearily as she turned a page in a thick textbook.

"Flora, you just had Weetabix. With banana. Which both come from plants." She pointed out. Marlene snorted quietly into her porridge.

"Yes, but it's the principle of the thing Kayla." Flora banged a fist down on the table sharply, succeeding only in getting badly poked with a fork. After a surprisingly long string of curses from Flora, Lily proceeded in acquiring information about her new room mates.

"So Marlene, what's your power?" She asked, spreading butter thickly over a slice of white toast. Her dad would probably have burnt his, Lily thought sadly. He'd have to do without, unless he wanted mum on his case about food waste management and carbohydrates and how at his age he should be eating something healthy. Like prunes.

"I'm an Illusionist. I can make you see stuff that isn't there. For example-" Marlene furrowed her eyebrows and suddenly, several more Marlenes appeared, all furrowing their brows similarly. Lily reached out to touch one, but her hand passed through it.

"Yes, that is the one design flaw." Marlene admitted, ruefully. She tugged once on her left ear and all the doppelgangers vanished.

"I can only make you see things, not feel them." Lily grinned.

"It's still amazing. What about you Kay-ARGH!"Lily screamed when Kayla materialized at her left elbow.

"Self teleportation. I'm working on taking others, but so far, it hasn't been working out so great." She explained, calming spooning sugar into her cup of tea and stirring vigorously.

"What about you Lily? You know about our powers, what're yours?" Alice asked and the others, turned to look at her.

"I don't know." She shrugged, but frowned when she saw the others exchange glances.

"Lily, you have to prove your powers to get into this school. There's usually a test, or something. Are you sure you don't know? There's nothing you are really good at, or really like?" Kayla asked, worriedly.

"I like knitting." Lily offered, but Kayla waved away her poor attempt at humor.

"No, seriously. I mean I know you knocked Sloan out and all, and that's brilliant, but it's not exactly a clear indication of what powers you have, you know?" Lily bit her lip, trying to think.

"Professor Dumbledore said they'd been watching me, that the scholarship they offered was a method of monitoring me more closely, under controlled circumstances." Lily paused, wondering if she should share the events of last April with her new friends. Perhaps not. It might have been nothing to do with her, after all. It could be completely someone else's fault. Yes, best to keep quiet. Maybe there was a way of researching powers in the school.

"If you didn't show Professor Dumbledore your powers, how'd you get sorted?" Alice asked, frowning hard at Flora who had just helped herself to several slices of bacon.

"What'd you mean, sorted?" Lily felt a headache coming on. There was just so much to absorb, and she hadn't even started class yet.

"There are four houses in the school, Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Normally there's a test to see which house you belong to. It all depends on how you react in a particular situation. The Ravenclaws are the brainiacs, they generally tend to think their way out of things, the Hufflepuffs are the nice guys, they strike deals or something. They're not the brightest tools in the shed." Alice whispered when Lily saw two girls sitting at the second nearest table start throwing things at each other, in attempt by both of them to get a pot of jam.

"Then there's the Slytherins. Very few super heroes come out of that house. Most turn evil. Your old pal Sloan counts himself among them. A lot of Slytherins have issues with normal people, or "normies" as they call them. Finally, there's the Griffindors. That's us. We're kind of impulsive, but loyal and brave to the last. So that's a basic summary." Alice shrugged and returned to her fruit salad.

"But how'd I end up in Griffindor?" Lily wondered, trying to think of anything that Dumbledore said that might have alluded to her placement.

"Well, you did take on Sloan with no knowledge of your powers to defend that other girl. Maybe Dumbledore thought you didn't need a test after that. It's a very Griffindor thing to do." Marlene pointed out.

"We're going to be late for class." Kayla said suddenly, looking at her watch and scooping up her bag hurriedly.

"What do we have first?" Flora asked, still munching on a slice of bacon, much to Alice's chagrin. Lily yanked out her timetable and read it quickly.

"Physical training with Professor Terry." All the others groaned simultaneously. This didn't seem like a particularly good omen.

"What?" Lily asked, feeling an odd sense of foreboding.

"You'll see." Kayla said darkly.

* * *

She did see. While nobody snorted at her in the changing room, or attempted to hide her uniform which had been neatly laid out in her P.T locker, the lesson was the worst that Lily ever had.

"WELCOME BACK!" A rotund man in all-too-revealing sweats boomed, as the supernaturally talented teenage girls filed in quietly. He fit Lily's stereotypical idea of how a gym teacher should look like perfectly, right down to the baseball cap and short little mustache. He didn't look particularly impressive, especially compared to the boys who were jogging around a field outside, some of them faster than humanely possible. Several of the girls were craning their necks to watch them through the single small window at the end of the gym. Following their gaze, Terry snapped the blind shut.

"No distractions. We're going to start off today with a little friendly game of laser tag." Lily was certain she heard Alice whimper. Terry sniffed and took a step back.

"For our new student-" Everyone turned to look at Lily, who stared straight ahead, praying she hadn't turned pink with embarrassment.

"-I'll explain the rules. Lasers will be darted at random around the room. You must use whatever means possible to avoid the lasers. This teaches good reflexes, which are essential when battling evil villains. You get hit by a laser, you're out. Game ends when the last person standing gets hit by a laser. Try not to die. There's a lot of paperwork to fill out if you do." Terry sauntered into his office, propped his feet up, stuck his head behind a magazine and pressed a button. It was in the milliseconds before he pressed the button, Lily noticed the little black scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. The lasers were _real_.

The second the first laser appeared, chaos ensued. Girls were darting around the room screaming. Flora tried to protect herself by growing some kind of vine shield, but the laser burned through and she was sent to the bench. Kayla was popping up and disappearing everywhere, but her reflexes weren't as sharp as she needed them to be and soon, she too was sent to the bench, clutching a scorched arm. Alice was running around like a headless chicken, terrified and Marlene was sitting on the bench, seemingly unaffected. Lily suspected she had done so the minute Terry turned his back. Lily swallowed, hard. Everyone was dropping like flies, except for one other girl and herself.

The other girl was outrageously pretty, with deep blue eyes and long straight golden hair. She looked better suited to a catwalk than a sweaty gym for superheroes. She moved like lightening, twisting and turning her body into impossible shapes to avoid the little red beams. It was awe inspiring to watch.

It was then Lily realized why she hadn't been hit. Every time a beam got too close, it halted and bounced away from her, as she had an invisible shield up. She stared, astonished as one came within an inch of her nose before turning and nailing the other girl in the ear. She shrieked loudly and then stormed over to the bench. By now, everyone else seemed to notice what was happening to Lily and were calling Terry, who looked extremely irritated upon emerging from his laser protective booth.

"What?" He snapped, striding into the room, which was smoking slightly from several new black scorch marks.

"The lasers won't touch her." The pretty girl said, pointing at Lily looked down at her feet, certain she was turning red.

"Is that so?" The coach asked, circling Lily, so that she could smell his cheap cologne and the coffee he'd obviously had moments before. It took all her willpower not to gag.

"Let me see." He went inside and turned the lasers on, this time watching Lily carefully, instead of retreating behind a magazine. After several minutes of the peculiar behavior of the lasers, he turned them off and came back outside.

"Wait here a minute." He told the class, before going outside the gym and heading over towards the field where the boys had been training, no doubt taking part in some not-potentially-life-threatening training exercise. The silence that followed his exit was deafening. Lily could almost feel the stares of everyone in the gym boring into her back. She focused instead on a scorch mark on the ceiling shaped like a sea shell and prayed that Terry would get back soon.

When he did return, Lily felt her embarrassment reach new heights. He'd brought the other teacher and the entire group of boys, most of whom paid no attention to her and sauntered over to the bench(which Lily suspected grew longer to accommodate them) and immediately started flirting with the other girls. She did, however see Sirius and Remus, who waved, puzzled, at her before sitting down.

"OK Evans. Show 'em." Terry shouted, from his perch inside the office with the other coach, a tiny, hairless man who was standing up on the chair to watch her. Lily swiveled in place and it was then she saw him. Severus Snape.

He was gazing at her avidly, with as much shock as she felt, but there was something more in his eyes. Something that she knew had been developing for quite some time, something she only had the courage to call him out on a little while ago, and that had ended disastrously.

Now very few people who knew her, knew that Lily Evans had an explosive temper. When her emotions went to extremes, especially when she was mad, you knew about it. Her mother blamed it on her red hair and her father seemed more amused about it than anything else, but there was one person in this room who knew the true extent of her anger when riled was something powerful. Later, Lily would wonder if it was all of the stress and anxiety that led up to what happened next, caused her to react the way she did. Perhaps it was being so terrified of everything new. But most likely it was the black eyed boy with greasy hair and an unhealthy pallor who looked at her with the same kind of intensity as he had when they first met, aged nine, that made her act like she did.

When the lasers went on, Lily clenched her fists, and not only did they bounce away from her, they rocketed off her with such force that they simultaneously launched themselves at the far wall and smashed through it, sizzling as they did so. And feeling a cold breeze sweep in through that gaping hole and feeling the colder still stares of everyone in the room, Lily turned and fled.


End file.
